The Government of the Northwest Territories said Thursday it would send another $12.371 million in new funding to schools to offset the extra costs of responding to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The joint initiative between the departments of Education, Culture and Employment and Finance will provide funding for:
- technology such as laptops, tablets, and at-home internet access
- additional teachers to allow more students to receive face-to-face instruction while adhering to physical distancing requirements,
- additional substitute teachers,
- additional custodians, and cleaning and sanitizing supplies,
- materials and supplies required for at-home learning, and
- personal protective equipment (PPE).
Education Minister RJ Simpson was at East Three School Feb. 21 for a tour of the facilities. In the background the Northern and Dene Games Summit, which Mr. Simpson said he was 'blown away' by. The GNWT announced more than $12M in new funding for schools to help deal with Covid-19. NNSL file photo
The contribution contains $4.85M in federal funding. There are more details on what the money will be spent on in this GNWT background document, which you can read by clicking on this sentence.
“The health, safety and wellbeing of students and educators remain the top priority as we begin to settle into the 2020-2021 school year," Minister of Education, Culture and Employment RJ Simpson said in a news release. "We have worked hard to ensure schools have the resources and supports in place to help mitigate the impacts of COVID-19 on our education system. It is our goal to continue offering an effective learning environment for all students as the global pandemic situation unfolds.”